Numbering device for wrapping-machines



A. c. KAPPES. NUMBERING DEVICE FOR WRAPPING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 28, I920.

1,384,899 rmmm 19,1921

five/Z27 findrgu 6 Kappe.

A.C.KAPPE&

NUMBERING DEVICE FOR WRAPPING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY28,1920.

1,384,899, Patented July 19, 1921;.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

[Tia/677 237" thras stares earawr omncew ANDREW G. KAPPES, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 VJILLIMJZI WEIGLEY JR. COMPANY, OF QHICAG'O, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

naeasaa.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 119, 1e21,

Application filed may 5% l920.- Serial No. 384,857.

To all whom it may concern Be it'known that l, Annnnw C. lixrrns, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of (look and State of lllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Numbering Devices for Wrapping-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in Wrapping machines, and more particularly to a numbering device adapted to be incorporated. as a part of such machines, and adapted to accomplish a definite purpose or step; namely, that of impressing an identification character or numeral upon the individual packages which are wrapped ,by the machine.

The numbering device herein illustrated and described as embodying the features of the invention, forms a part of a gum wrapping machine, used for wrapping the individua-l sticks in sheets of wax paper, and. similarly wrapping a certain number of sticks together into package form, the package wrapper being preferably of wax, or paraiiined paper, preferably used by rea son of its moisture-proof qualities.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a numbering device whereby the inclividual packages may be identified by certain combinations of numerical characters or other characters of identification. In the manufacture of gum, it has been found that the quality of, or mixture of the ingredients varies from time to time in spite of the care which is exercised in compounding the materials,'with the result that occasionally a quantity of the finished product is placed on the market which does not come up to the standard quality. In the event that the product is returned to the manufacturer, it isdesirable that the packages bear some mark of identification in order that the defect may be traced to its origin, and. its cause rectified. Inasmuch as the mark of identification is of interest only to the manufacturer, it is desirable that such mark be inconspicuous so as not to be readily discernible by the purchasing public, but which may be easily observed by the manufacturer, knowing just where the mark is to be found on the ackage.

For t e reasons stated, a novel means of applying marks of identification upon the 2 is a view in vertical section taken on line 22 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detailed view of the numbering cylinder, and

Fig. 4c is a perspective view of a wrapped package showing the manner in which the ldentlfylng number is applied to the package wrapper.

he portion of the wrapping machine illustrated includes those parts with which the numbering device cooperates, and comprises in. general those parts which advance the wrapping material which is fed from a roll in the form of a continuous strip, and those parts which cut the strip into short lengths of predetermined size, these shorter lengths being the individual sheets which are wrapped about the articles to form the packages.

Considering first these parts of the wrapping machine, a. vertical standard 1 is supported upon a horizontal frame member 2 of the machine, there being journaled in suitable bearings carried by said standard, a pair of horizontally arranged feed rolls 33, these rolls being mounted on rotative shafts a a provided at their adjacent ends with intermeshing gear wheels 5-5, one of said shafts being driven by a prime mover of the machine through suitable driving elements. The wrapping material in the form of a continuous strip 6 is fed from a roll mounted at some point above the standard 1 in a. vertical direction downwardly between the feed rolls 33, there being preferably provided a guide roll 7 journaled at the upper end of the standard 1. llmmediately below the feed rolls 3-3, and somewhat to the right, as shown in Fig. 2, is they cutting mechanism consisting of a reciprocating knife 8, preferably having a. saw toothed arrangementof cutting edges, said reciprocating knife cooperating with a fixed knife blade 9 between which the strip 6 is fed. The strip is guided between the cut llll ting knives 8 and9 by means of an inclined plate 10, and the sheets 11 after they are cut from the strip are guided downwardly bedescribed in detail, is located adjacent to the feed rolls 3-3 and the cuttingmechanism so that the numbering operatlon is accomplished just before the strip is fed to the cutting mechanism. Locating the numbering device more definitely, the same is mounted immediately above the feed rolls, and in such position that the impressions are made upon the strip 6 immediately before the latter passes between the feed rolls and into the cutting mechanism. In general the numbering device consists of a numbering cylinder 13 extending horizontally and parallel with the plane of the strip 6, the periphery of the cylinder being substantially in contact with said strip 6 on one side thereof. The numbering cylinder comprises a plurality of dials or numbering wheels 14 rotatively mounted upon a tubular shaft or sleeve 15, said shaft being journaled in suitable bearings 16--16 located at either end of the c linder, and secured to the standard 1. he numbering wheels 14 are of metal and have numerical characters 17 uniformly distributed around their peripheries, these numbers being arranged consecutively from zero to nine about each Wheel.

The wheels are-preferably ofmetal and the numerical characters being cast or otherwise formed so as to project from the surface of the wheels. Within the sleeve 15 is contained a solid mass of suitable refractory material'as at18 (Fig. 3) in which is embedded a coil wire or resistance element 1 forming a part of an electric circuit, said resistance element terminating in conductors 19-19 (Fig. l) which are connected with a source of electrical energy. As shown in Fig. '1, the conductors 20-20 project from the end of the sleeve 15 which extends a considerable distance laterally beyond the side of the vertical standard 1. It is apparent that if an electric'current is passed through the resistance element 19 that heat will be generated, such heat being transmitted to the several wheels 14 of the numbering cylinder, with the result that the temperature of the cylinder may be raised to the desired deee which, as will hereinafter be observed, 18 substantially that of the IIIBltlIfi/g point of the wax, which cuts the strip 6. I anifestly, electrical elements may be employed in conjunction with the heating coil for the pur-' pose of regulating the temperature of the numbering cylinder, as well as of the numerical characters themselves.

It is now apparent that if the strip is brought intocontact with the numbering I cylinder 13, and sufiicient pressure is applied, that the temperature of the numeral characters 17 is suflicient to melt the wax with which the strip is impregnated, thus forming an impression in the wax surface which is not unlike the water mark that is *used extensively in identifying different it is desired to impressthe tervals or at predetermined points alongthe strip as the same is fed downwardly between the feed rolls 3-3. As a means for accomplishing this end, there is mounted just below the feed rolls 33 a rock shaft 20, the same being the shaft which operates the oscillating cutting knife 8, the latter being connected to the lower ends of depending rocker arms 2121 fixed to said rock shaft 20, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. The

. rock shaft 20 is journaled in suitable bearings, as 22-22, and is actuated by suitable operating mechanism including a crank arm 23 connected at one end of the rock shaft 20. Fixed to the rock' shaft 20 at a point intermediate its ends and in vertical alinement with the numbering cylinder 13, is an arm 24 which extends vertically upward and inwardly toward the numbering cylinder 13, terminating in an enlarged head or f pad 25 having, an inner face of some pliable material such as cork. The pad 25 normally occupies a position in horizontal alinement with the axisof the numbering cylinder 13, and on the opposite side of the strip 6 from said cylinder, and substantially in contact therewith.

As a means for actuating the rocker arm which in turn operates the oscillating cutter 8, as well as the pressure arm 24, the following mechanism is employed, as shownflin Fig. 2:

A horizontal connecting" rod 26 is pivotally connected to the end of the crank arm- 23, and at its opposite end is provided with a yoke 27 which straddles a guide block 28 carried upon a 'rotative shaft 29 suitably supported and journaled in a vertical standard 30 integral with the frame 2 of the machine. Mounted upon the shaft 29 is a cam wheel 31 having formed therein an irregu- 'larly formed cam groove 32 which engages a cam (projection 33 carried by the connect ing N 26. The cam groove is so designed as to transmit an intermittent reciprocating movement to the connecting rod 26, which in turn transmits an intermittent rocking movement to the rock shaft 20. Inasmuch as the pressure arm 24 is actuated simultaneously with the cutting mechanism, it is obvious that it will produce an impression upon the advancing strip at predetermined intervals along the same, each impression being so located that when the strip reaches the cutting mechanism, an impression will be present upon each of the individual sheets 11 that form the individual package wrappers. Thus it will be seen that the operation of the numbering device is accurately timed with the cutting mechanism so that its operation is not dependent upon the rate at which the strip is fed through the machine, but rather upon the rapidity of the cutting operation. This being so, an impression on each individual package wrapper is assured.

The operation of the device is obvious so far as the manipulation of the numbering device is concerned. The numbering wheels 14 may be rotated by hand so that anydesired combination of numerical characters can be obtained. Thus a single days output may bear a certain number which ma be changed from day to day. Thus the packages may be accurately identified in every respect. However, any system of identification may be adopted or other combination of identifying characters may be employed.

The invention is hereinafter more fully set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a wrapping machine, the combination with means for advancing a continuous strip of parafiined wrapping material, and cuttin mechanism for cutting said strip into s eets of predetermined lengths,.of a numbering device comprising a heated impression member located adjacent the path of said strip, and a member operatively connected with said cutting mechanism to bring said strip into contact with said impression member, its operation being synchronized with said cutting mechanism to produce an impression in the paraffin on each sheet.

2. In a wrapping machine, the combination with means for advancing a continuous strip of wrapping material, cutting mechanism for cutting the same into separate wrapping sheets, of a numbering device comprising a series of heated numbering dials mounted upon a fixed axis parallel to and adjacent one side of said strip, a rocker arm having a strip engaging member positioned on the opposite side of said strip, and operatively connected with said cutting mechanism for pressing said strip against the numbering dials at predetermined intervals in the advancement of said strip.

3. In a wrapping machine, the combination with means for advancing a continuous strip of parafiin coated wrapping material, and mechanism for cutting the same in predetermined lengths, of a numbering device comprising an impression cylinder provided with raised characters located adjacent the path of said strip and in advance of said cutting means, an electrical heating unit associated with said cylinder, and a member carried by said cutting mechanism and operative to press said strip against said cylinder, its operation being synchronized with said cutting means to produce an impression in the paraifin coating on each length of said strip.

4. In a wrapping machine, the combination with means for advancing a continuous strip of parafiined wrapping material, mechanism for cutting the same into separate wrapping sheets and comprising a rock shaft, of a numbering device comprising an impression member mounted adjacent the surface of said strip and provided with heated characters, an arm having a pad at the end mounted on said rock shaft and 0py by producing an impression in the parafiin.

5. A method of marking packages wrapped in parafiin material consisting of impressing a heated member bearing characters of identification against each individual sheet of wrapping material during the wrapping operation.

6. A method of marking packages adapted to be wrapped in sheets of material impregnated with a substance which melt-s at a predetermined temperature, and consisting of applying against each of said sheets a heated dial bearing raised characters, thereby impressing a mark of identification in the nature of a water-mark on each of said sheets.

7. A method of marking packaged goods wrapped in sheets of paraflined material, and consisting of successively applying at predetermined intervals along a continuous strip of material a dial bearing raised characters heated to a temperature suflicient to melt the paraffin in contact with the character prior to the cutting of the strip into separate sheets, and the wrapping of the goods in said sheets.

8. A method of marking packaged goods wrapped in sheets of paraffin coated material and consisting of pressing a continuous strip of such material against a dial bearing raised characters adapted to produce suecessively changing character combinations, said characters being heated to a temperature sufiicient to melt the parafiin in contact with said characters, cutting the strip into sheets each bearing a series of characters, and wrapping each sheet about the goods to be ackaged.

n witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 19th day of May, A. D. 1920.

ANDREW C. KAPPES. 

